Unit 1 at Susquehanna Nuclear Plant Shuts Down Safely

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Jul 16, 2010, 08:23 ET

BERWICK, Pa., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Unit 1 at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant near Berwick, Luzerne County, Pa., safely shut down late Friday afternoon (7/16).

"Operators made a conservative decision to safely shut down Unit 1 following a leak of river water into the turbine building basement," said Jeff Helsel, PPL's Susquehanna plant manager. "The river water entered the basement from a hatch that provides access to part of the unit's condenser. The condenser uses river water to cool the steam leaving the turbine."

Following repairs, operators will restore the system and return the unit to service.

The Susquehanna plant, located in Luzerne County about seven miles north of Berwick, is owned jointly by PPL Susquehanna LLC and Allegheny Electric Cooperative Inc. and is operated by PPL Susquehanna.

PPL Susquehanna is one of PPL Corporation's generating facilities. Headquartered in Allentown, Pa., PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) controls or owns nearly 12,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to about 4 million customers in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom. More information is available at www.pplweb.com.

SOURCE PPL Corporation